No More Cold Feet

While he once considered himself incredibly tough for rarely suffering the cold and achy feet like most hunters, times have changed. Recently, Dave Campbell has joined the ranks of the sore-footed. Read more to learn his cure.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “What goes around, comes around.” For the vast majority of my life I have been blessed with extraordinary tough feet. I attributed this toughness to going barefoot for much of my youth. My family wasn’t too poor to keep me shod; I was just a lazy beach bum and chose not to wear shoes, even in the winter. And when I began hunting and hanging out in the mountains I hardly ever had cold feet. While others often complained of cold or sore feet, I secretly and smugly thought to myself how incredibly tough I am.

Well, now it’s my turn, and for the last couple of years I’ve been having problems with my feet. And I’m here to tell you that cold, hurting feet can really screw up your hunting. Thankfully, I have found something to help keep my feet warm.

ThermaCELL has a battery-powered insole that should keep the most tenderfooted hunter comfortable. Those of us with a few miles on our legs may remember the old electric hunting socks with a pair of D batteries in a not-so-convenient pouch at the top of each sock. The batteries would often peter out after a couple of hours. Replacing them in the field was a pain, to say nothing of carrying spares of those massive, heavy D cells. Now we have rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that contain enough power to keep these insoles warm for up to five hours.

These insoles are charged from a port at the heel, where there is also an on-off switch. The level of warmth is controlled by a small remote control fob about the size of a car remote. You can leave them off, medium (101 degrees) or high (111 degrees).

This morning was the opener for my deer area this year, and the day before it was hit with about 6 inches of snow. We found drifts as deep as 18 inches. With my ThermaCELL insoles set on medium my feet were quite comfortable.

Those of us with foot issues—especially cold feet—don’t have to put up with that problem anymore. The MSRP for these insoles id $129.99, but you can find them discounted online with a simple search.